Leave the Children Alone

UV 3665/10000. Leave the Children Alone But He said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19 v 14 Before Christ, children did not count. They were neither to be seen nor heard in adult circles. Hence, when parents brought their children to be blessed by Jesus whom they believed was someone special sent by God while some believed Him to be the promised Messiah, the disciples shooed them away. Jesus kept His eyes and ears open to what the disciples did and immediately intervened. He asked them not to hinder them from coming near Him. He brought children to the center of the kingdom of heaven. He pointed out that the qualities of the citizens of the heavenly kingdom, from which He came and to which He would return once His task on earth was fulfilled, were innocence, gentleness, humility, faith and trust of a child. Jesus does not celebrate children only on Childrens’ day but on every day of the year. We must retain that sense of wonder that children have when they discover some new aspect of life or of knowledge. We should be in awe of the Lord. Children before they gain the forbidden knowledge of this world are like angels. Jesus knew that His sacrifice on the cross would make adults with crooked hearts and messed up pasts as innocent as children. Their past record would be blotted out as if these did not exist. We are to come to the Lord Jesus to learn, to be taught about God, to be taught by God. Our trust and obedience should be complete and free from any doubt or suspicion. Our crooked hearts would be restored to child -like innocence by our inclining our ear and our heart to the Lord. The fruit of the spirit would be manifest in us. We would also have a child-like curiousity about the Lord and His ways. We will be eager to be at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him. Like children depend on the food their parents provide, trusting it is meant for their growth and development, we should depend on the manna the Lord provides us in His word. Like children, we can ask questions till we gain understanding of the word but once we understand, our allegiance to the Lord and our obedience should be unquestioning. A child loves adults who spend time with her. Compared to Jesus, His infinite power, His infinite wisdom, even the oldest, wisest, most experienced adult is like a child. A child lies still in her mother’s arms once she is weaned or satisfied with the feeding she receives. Likewise, we should be still, free from our many restless schemes and plans as we lie in the loving embrace of the Lord. Then we will experience the many dimensions of His love, His provision, His grace. Today, Jesus continues to lay His hands on the heads of our children, to bless them, to acknowledge them, to make them feel counted and valued. The word of God is severe in its judgement of those who mislead children, those who mistreat or abuse them. Paul writes that “Now, we understand as a child but when we are mature, we will see and understand as clear as day.” It implies that Jesus is not endorsing immature or childish behaviour but that we should believe like a child, pray like a child, trust like a child, be gentle and humble like Jesus- the child-like qualities of the most powerful Person in all of history and all of the universe.